Nanu, Nanu, Mark’s the Man Who will do the best job!
That was my slogan. I was in 6th grade, running for the Commissioner of Halls position in my elementary school elections. My campaign skit was Mark & Mindy, based on the TV series Mork & Mindy that had come out the year before.
Mork & Mindy ran from 1978 to 1982 starring Robin Williams and Pam Dawber. “Mork (Robin Williams) is a bumbling alien from the planet Ork sent to Earth in an egg, to study its inhabitants. He will report to his unseen superior, Orson (Ralph James), until reassigned. On Earth, he meets Mindy McConnell (Pam Dawber), an average woman who takes him in and shelters him. On befriending Mork, she signs herself up for some wacky adventures as Mork learns about human life, acting (and looking) very eccentric along the way.”
I was in awe with the television show as a 10-year-old kid. The antics of Robin Williams were inspiring. I watched the show religiously in its early years. My family even took a trip out to Boulder Colorado when visiting my mom’s friend in Denver, to see the locations and experience it in person!
In my campaign version, I was explaining to “Mindy” how I was running for office and could be a great commissioner of halls at the school! I reported my findings to Orson at the end of the skit. Campaign posters throughout the school announced, “Nanu, Nanu, Mark’s the Man Who will do the best job,” borrowing from Mork’s famous greeting and brilliantly written by my father in an egg-shaped layout on the poster.
While I didn’t collect a lot of the Mork & Mindy toys as a kid, they have become a part of my museum collection – bubblegum cards, talking Mork dolls, a colorforms set, egg radio – among the collection. I still have several items to collect, but my love for this show and its impact on my life still burn bright to this day. Oh by the way, I won the election!
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